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Asoka Chakra, Chanakya and RAW

By Janaka Perera

In all probability those who caused the horrifying bomb explosion at the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad and those behind the bomb blast in several Indian cities this month share the same extremist politico-religious objectives even if they are not members of the same group. The nature of the explosions – especially the one at the Marriot clearly reflect the technical expertise that only a mafia gang like the LTTE can provide – may be on payment because the Tigers seem to be running short of funds nowadays.

At the same time there is no question that Prabhakaran is plotting and dreaming of doing a ‘Marriot’ in Colombo, even as the Security Forces are moving towards the gates of the last remaining town of his mythical Tamil Eelam.

During this year’s SAARC summit Indian delegates agreed on the urgency on combating terrorism. If they are sincere then they cannot afford to pick and chose but go all out to convey a clear message not only to terrorists of all hues who are deliberately and willfully targeting unarmed civilians and non-combatants but also to their ardent supporters within and outside India. And these terrorist-sympathizers include the Norwegians whose dubious peace-making India too endorsed, although it lost all credibility among the Sinhalas.

The majority of Sri Lankans therefore do not want to hear Delhi’s or any other government’s pontifications about the need to win over the Tamils and ensure their safety in the Wanni before dealing with the Prabhakaran’s terrorist outfit. Perhaps by the same token Pakistan has every right to tell India to ensure the security of India’s Muslims against periodic Hindu extremist violence – before going after Muslim zealots for blasting bombs there.

We however need to recall here that the Sinhala majority by and large had a great regard for India in the years before Indira Gandhi got the bright idea of ‘disciplining’ Sri Lanka with the LTTE ‘rod’ which eventually turned out to be a viper. Even today Hindi movies, music, songs and dances are popular among the Sinhalas far more than Tamils. North Indian languages like Bengali have close ties with Sinhala.

As a school boy I witnessed the very warm welcome that large crowds gave Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when he arrived at the then civilian airport of Ratmalana in 1962 during Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s first term as Prime Minister. Contrast it with the visit of his grandson Rajiv Gandhi in 1987 when he was nearly hit on the head with a rifle butt by an enraged Sri Lankan sailor. Eventually the PM was destined to die at the hands of a group which his mother nurtured.

It appears that since 1983 Delhi has caught a Tiger’s tail which it cannot now let go lest the animal turns around and attacks – especially because the Tamil National Alliance and Tamil Nadu jingoists are riding the brute. Even when GOSL is trying to convince India to let go off the tail she is hesitant to do so. In this context in if ever President Mahinda Rajapaksa succeeds in handing over a captured Prabhakaran to India it would be no surprise if he is not put on trial, after all the Gandhis (Sonia and Priyanka) seem to have slowly developed – perhaps for political expediency – a soft corner for Nalini and other convicts who plotted Rajvi’s assassination.

Delhi’s mistake has been to imagine that Kautilyan methods would always work in India’s favour in the region. Kautilya alias Chanakya was Indian Emperor Chandragupta’s Chief Minister who developed a strategy of destabilizing and weakening neighbouring states around 320 B.C. His methods proved advantageous to both Chandragupta and his successors including Emperor Asoka (who later gave up wars of expansion after embracing Buddhism and adopted the Dharma Chakra as the State symbol).

India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW ) subsequently researched, developed and used these Kautilyan methods for expanding Delhi’s power in the region including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In fact this is the Indian Government’s real reason to adopt the Saranath Lion Capital and the Asoka Chakra or Dharma Chakra as India’s National symbol – which appears on her national flag – more than out of respect for a great Buddhist Emperor and his religion as many Buddhists believe, according to Bangladeshi writer and Barrister M.B.I. Munshi (The India Doctrine published by Bangladesh Research Forum)